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HELP..need help with tables learning

  • 04-07-2011 1:20pm
    #1
    First Focus
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 69 ✭✭


    Hi , I'm in serious need of help, my "wonderful" daughter decided this year was the year she would take it easy with homework, she told me that "we do our tables in school" and in this she never learned them during the year, now obviously she has fallen way way way behind in her already struggling maths, i'm looking for help from anyone that can give me the best way i could get her back to speed with her adding and subtracting tables, i know there must be an easier way of getting them lodged in her head.Please Please could someone help me with this. I know maths are a hard subject to stay on top of. Thanks for any help ye could give me


Comments

  • #2
    spurious
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Education Moderators Posts: 27,316 CMod ✭✭✭✭spurious


    It may not be strictly tables, but I had a real-life version of one of these in my primary school and spent hours at it.
    I loved Maths at school.

    She may learn in a more 'doing' kind of way which might be why the tables learned by rote are not going in.

    **edit Inspired by nostalgia I went looking for the balance I had at school which was a very swish brushed steel one.
    Found this which might be of interest.


  • #3
    silverharp
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 18,854 ✭✭✭✭silverharp


    not strictly what you are looking for but worth setting up an account on khan academy. There are videos and unlimited examples to do. I started my 6 year old on it and he has learned alot. Also good from the parental aspect as a reminder how to explain math to kids.

    http://www.khanacademy.org/

    A belief in gender identity involves a level of faith as there is nothing tangible to prove its existence which, as something divorced from the physical body, is similar to the idea of a soul. - Colette Colfer



  • #4
    nettie1
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 42 ✭nettie1


    Hi there, this is going to sound complicated, but it works pretty simply really. I teach tables based on the fact that there are only 36 addition tables children need to learn. The 1+ tables are unnecessary,if a child understands that 2+3=3+2, then there's only need to learn one of them (they love that, particularly if you call it a "cheat"). So I teach them 2+2, 2+3, 2+4, and so on, down as far as 2+9. Then we start at 3+3, 3+4.....3+9, 4+4, 4+5....4+9, 5+5, 5+6....5+9, all the way down to 9+9. The reason I leave out tens is that they're easy if a child has a concept of tens and units.
    The advantage is that as the tables get higher and the numbers get bigger, the child needs to learn fewer of them. There are only three 7+ tables, two 8s and one 9.
    I time them with a stopwatch, and children are expected to get progressively faster. There is no pressure at the start, they can go at any pace they like, but they are expected to be a little bit faster the second day. The goal is to beat 1 minute, but that depends on the age of the child and their overall ability, the child can chose their goal time and once that's beaten, can chose a new goal. Do give some sort of recognition for reaching goals, and try to ensure they are achievable. An average 4th class child should beat a minute within a few weeks, a good third class child might take a term to beat it, but the motivation comes from the fact that they are constantly out to beat themselves. They don't get compared to any other children.
    You could start by doing the 2s separately, then the 3s and so on. When they're aiming for all 36 facts I stop them after 3 minutes regardless of how far they've gone, and their aim is to get further the next day. That gives them the reassurance that tables won't go on for long. I draw out a little table to keep track of their progress and their speed. That motivates them too.
    I know this sounds convoluted, but it's actually quite simple and very practical. Best of luck!


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